iHTS   AT  TiiE   OPERA 


, 


LO  HEN-GRIP 


NIGHTS    AT   THE    OPERA 


NIGHTS   AT   THE   OPERA 


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£ 


C  o. 


NIGHTS   AT  THE   OPERA 


First  Edition,  May,  1902 
Second  Edition,  June   1903 


RICHARD    WAGNER 


NIGHTS  AT  THE 

OPERA 

WAGNER'S 

LOHENGRIN 

By  W^akeling  Dry 


PHILADELPHIA 
GEORGE  W.  JACOBS  &  CO. 

PUBLISHERS 


CONTENTS 


Portrait  Frontispiece 

i.  The  Maker  of  the  Music  PAGE  9 
ii.  The  Story  of  the  Swan-Knight  23 
in.  The  Presentation  of  the  Opera  33 
iv.  The  Characters  represented  37 

v.    Music  and  Story  side-by-side        39 


2013919 


I.     THE  MAKER  OF  THE  Music. 

AT  Leipzig,  on  the  22nd  of  May, 
1 8 1 3 — the  beginning  :  at  Venice, 
on  the  1 3th  of  February,  1883 — the 
end  ;  and  in  the  little  while  between, 
the  aspirations,  the  drudgery,  the  dis- 
appointments, and  the  final  triumph 
which  make  up  the  life-story  of  that 
many-sided  genius,  Richard  Wagner  ! 

How  short  a  time  since  he  was  laid 
to  rest  and  yet  how  long  ago  it  all  seems 
when  we  think  of  the  enthusiasts  who 
wrote  about  the  Music  of  the  Future — 
who  formed  little  societies  such  as  the 
Dannreuther  Working  Men's  Society 
to  sing  and  play  him,  if  not  into  public 
9 


Wagner  s 


favour,  at  least  into  the  appreciation  of 
the  thoughtful.  Even  longer  ago  still, 
it  seems,  when  we  recall  the  wonderful 
things  in  the  way  of  criticism  that  came 
from  those  who  sat  in  judgment  on  mat- 
ters musical  in  the  days,  when  Wagner's 
music  was  "  the  apogee  of  hideousness, 
a  distracting  and  altogether  distressing 
noise,  a  mere  blaring  of  brass,  and  a 
short  method  of  utterly  ruining  the 
voice  ! "  But  there  has  been  much 
eating  of  words  since  then. 

In  England,  partly  by  reason  of  the 
quiet  but  far-reaching  influence  of 
Dannreuther,  partly  by  the  growth  of  a 
fashion,  Wagner's  music  was  known  by 
not  a  few  in  the  concert  room  long 
before  his  life-work,  in  salvation  ot 
the  opera,  was  presented  on  the  stage. 
And  besides  this  knowledge  of  his 
music,  the  analytical  programme  told 
10 


Lohengrin 


us  years  ago  those  details  of  his  life 
which  have  now  become  the  common 
stock  of  the  biographer.  Wagner's  first 
effort  in  poetry,  his  desultory  learning  of 
the  piano,  his  utter  fiasco  in  the  case  of 
an  overture  at  the  Leipzig  Theatre,  the 
beginning  of  his  career  as  chorus-master 
at  Warzburg,  his  terrible  journey  from 
Pillau  to  Paris  by  way  of  London  ;  the 
cruel  circumstances  which  drove  him, 
when  in  Paris,  to  arrange  quadrilles  for 
the  cornet  and  piano  to  keep  himself 
from  starving ;  his  flight,  first  to  Weimar 
and  then  to  Zurich,  when  the  revolution 
of  1 849  inflamed  him  ;  all  this  and  much 
more  is  familiar  reading  at  the  present 
time — when  an  intimate  knowledge  of 
all  that  has  been  written  about  a 
musician  is  an  infinitely  more  common 
possession  than  even  a  nodding  ac- 
quaintance with  the  great  man's  music. 
IT 


Wagner  s 

Wagner  at  eighteen  knew  Beethoven 
by  heart.  How  much  music,  it  were 
well  to  ask,  does  the  average  student 
or  the  music  lover  think  it  really  neces- 
sary to  know  in  this  way  ? 

Bach,  Beethoven  and  Wagner — these 
form  a  trio  in  themselves  :  and  no  one 
need  give  a  moment's  thought  to  the 
question,  "  Which  is  the  greatest  ?  " — 
much  less  is  one  called  upon  to  express 
an  opinion.  As  well  might  we  be  con- 
cerned in  a  comparison  between  Orestes 
and  Hamlet.  And  yet,  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  development  of  the  art  of 
music  these  three  potent  names  follow 
each  other  in  a  natural  order.  The 
subject  matter  of  Bach,  woven  by  means 
of  counterpoint  into  a  living  expression 
of  his  ideas,  was  perfected  by  Wagner 
in  his  "  Leading  motive."  The  idea  is 
Wagner's  ;  and  although  the  labelling 
12 


Lohengrin 

of  the  motives  more  often  depends 
upon  the  imagination  of  the  commenta- 
tor, yet  when  valued  at  its  true  worth 
as  we  now  are  able  to  understand  it,  it 
serves  a  good  purpose.  In  his  letters — 
those  to  Liszt  alone  fill  a  large  volume 
— and  in  the  directions  written  upon  his 
scores,  Wagner  has  left  a  rich  treasure 
of  information  for  our  guidance.  Those 
who  are  learning  to  sing  might  with 
great  advantage  acquaint  themselves 
with  what  Wagner  has  written  thereon. 
We  should  hear  a  little  less  then 
about  the  effect  of  Wagner's  music 
upon  the  voice. 

The  emotional  aspect  of  music 
which  Beethoven,  in  the  course  of 
his  progress  in  orchestration,  opened 
to  our  view  was  grasped  by  Wagner 
in  all  its  completeness  and  with  all  its 
potentialities.  In  this,  and  the  weaving 
13 


Wagner  s 

of  the  thematic  construction  into  a 
foundation  of  poetry,  we  have,  in  a  few 
words,  the  substance  and  the  fulfilment 
of  Wagner's  life-work  on  the  Lyric 
Drama.  At  this  time  music,  in  Ger- 
many, had  become  as  it  were  a  fine 
river  into  which  the  music  of  Beethoven 
was  poured  until  the  stream  flowed  swift 
and  deep  and  strong.  Upon  this  noble 
river  Wagner  launched  once  more  the 
Opera,  which  had  first  been  launched  at 
the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  by  Peri 
and  Caccini  in  their  attempt  to  combine 
the  old  Greek  Drama  with  its  sister-art, 
Music.  But  the  vessel  once  launched 
had  drifted  like  that  in  the  "  Rhyme  of 
the  Ancient  Mariner"  into  a  place 
from  which  there  was  apparently  no 
return. 

Gliick  had  made  a  brave  attempt  to 
grasp  the  tiller,  and  to  infuse  some  life 


Lohengrin 

into  the  dispirited  crew.  But  he  was 
not  strong  enough  to  do  more  than  to 
get  the  prow  to  point  in  the  required 
direction.  Mozart,  the  peerless  maker 
of  sweet  melodies,  also  came  on  board 
and  made  the  vessel  glorious  with  fresh 
colours  and  new  sails.  But  this  did  not 
fill  the  sails  with  wind  and  the  ship  re- 
mained becalmed.  It  was  Wagner  who 
finally  cleared  the  decks  and,  by  means 
of  his  operas,  got  the  ship  under  weigh, 
until  he  succeeded  at  length  in  steering 
her  into  the  clear  and  open  sea.  The 
progress  was  like  that  of  every  other 
great  work,  gradual  and  well-considered. 
It  commenced  with  Der  Fliegende  Hol- 
lander, produced  at  Dresden  in  1843, 
the  first  of  the  group  of  operas  which 
belong  to  the  so-called  "  second  man- 
ner "  of  Wagner,  since  Die  Feen,  Das 
Liebesverbot  and  Rienzi  may  be  left 
15 


ffiagne 


rs 


out  of  the  question,  and  it  was  con- 
tinued in  Tannhauser  (1845),  and  in 
Lohengrin  (1847). 

Three  years  later,  when  Liszt  was 
producing  Lohengrin  at  Weimar,  Wag- 
ner, though  an  exile  from  his  native 
land,  was  already  composing  the  works 
of  his  third  and  greatest  period,  which 
culminated  in  his  crowning  triumphs, 
those  unsurpassed  Lyric  Dramas,  in 
which  he  achieved  to  the  full  his  ideal 
union  of  poetry,  drama,  music,  and 
scenic  effect — in  Tristan  &  Isolde,  Der 
Ring,  and  Parsifal. 

Wagner,  at  first  distrusted  as  an 
innovator,  has  come,  on  better  ac- 
quaintance, to  be  loved  as  a  renovator. 
Mozart  had  made  form  his  slave  with- 
out turning  it  adrift.  He  and  Haydn 
were  regarded  as  the  key-stones  in 
musical  architecture.  It  is  not  difficult 
16 


Lohengrin 

to  understand  that  Moscheles  regarded 
Beethoven  as  an  impossibility.  How 
much  less  difficult  to  understand  the 
storm  that  raged  round  Wagner.  And 
yet  Wagner  himself  wrote  of  Mozart : 
"It  was  from  the  realm  of  dramatic 
music,  already  widened  by  himself  to 
an  undreamt  capability  of  expression, 
that  Mozart  first  entered  upon  the 
symphony.  For  those  few  of  his 
symphonies  whose  peculiar  worth  has 
kept  them  alive  to  this  day  we  owe 
to  the  period  when  he  had  fully  un- 
folded his  genius  as  a  composer  of 
opera." 

The  humanity  of  Shakespeare  is  the 
secret  of  his  greatness,  and  this  is  shown 
by  the  art  with  which  he  makes  the 
blending  of  the  humorous  with  the 
serious  acceptable  to  us.  The  great- 
ness of  Mozart's  Don  Juan  lies  in  his 
17  B 


Wagner  s 


artistic  treatment  of  the  conventional 
comic  opera  form  coupled  with  his 
moderation  in  the  treatment  of  reci- 
tative. As  Wagner  joins  hands  with 
Peri  in  respect  of  the  ideal  union  of 
music  and  poetry  in  his  Lyric  Drama, 
so,  in  Lohengrin,  he  adds  a  finishing 
touch  to  the  form  of  opera  evolved  by 
Mozart  and  Weber.  The  recitative  is 
treated  in  a  more  expressive  way,  the 
orchestra  assumes  the  explanatory  char- 
acter of  the  chorus  in  the  Greek 
drama,  the  romanticism  of  Weber  is 
developed  and  enriched,  and  the  re- 
sult remains  as  a  tribute  to  Wagner's 
genius,  as  the  most  popular  opera  in 
any  part  of  the  world  where  audiences 
are  to  be  found  that  are  able  to 
distinguish  between  beautiful  music 
and  the  attractiveness  of  mere 
tune. 

18 


Lohengrin 


It  is  in  the  development  of  the  Leit- 
motiv (which   may  be  conveniently  re- 
ferred to  as  the  motive)  that  Wagner's 
supremacy  lies.     It  was  not  unknown 
to  Wagner's  predecessors,  but  he  was 
the  first  to  make  it,  from  his  first  use 
of  it  in  Der  Fliegende  Hollander  rather 
more  than  a  mere  characteristic  of  the 
various  people  in  the  story.     Mozart  in 
Don  Juan,  Weber  in  Der  Freyschutz, 
had  given  us  evidences  of  its  existence, 
but  their  treatment  of  it,  if  not  crude, 
was  undecided.    In  Lohengrin  it  is  first 
seen  to  approach  its  full  meaning,  as 
Wagner  showed  us,  when  he  left  opera 
as  a  finished  structure  and  revealed  his 
mastership   in  his    Lyric  Dramas.       It 
was  Lohengrin  that  consoled  Wagner 
at  Vienna  after  his  return  from    exile, 
when  Tristan    had   been   given    up   as 
impossible   after  fifty-seven    rehearsals. 
19 


W^agners 

And  it  was  Lohengrin,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, that  brought  about  the  ful- 
filment of  the  dearest  wish  of  Wagner's 
heart — the  building  of  a  temple  for  the 
proper  presentation  of  his  later  works. 
It  was  by  this  opera  that  King  Ludwig 
of  Bavaria  was  first  attracted  to  the 
"  new  music,"  and  it  was  through  the 
enthusiasm  which  its  beauty  awoke  in 
him  that  he  was  led  to  adopt  its  creator 
as  his  friend.  Those  who  have  made 
the  pilgrimage  to  Bayreuth  know 
the  result  of  the  friendship  thus 
begun. 

There  is  no  music  of  Wagner's  that 
is  so  characteristic,  as  a  whole,  as  that 
of  Lohengrin.  Its  oneness  is  supreme. 
The  alternation  of  the  two  chords,  major 
and  minor,  which  herald  the  approach 
of  the  silver-clad  knight  stamp  them- 
selves for  ever  on  the  listener's  mind, 

20 


Lohengrin 

and  can  never  be  used  without  awaken- 
ing memories  of  the  source  from  which 
they  are  taken.  It  is  not  possible  to 
play  any  part  of  the  Lohengrin  music 
which  would  be  unrecognised  by  the 
opera -goer.  Wagner  knew  the  im- 
possibility of  dividing  it  into  sections 
or  selections,  and  when  the  time  came 
for  his  publisher  to  issue  a  portion  of 
it,  he  arranged  nine  of  the  numbers 
himself. 

Of  its  popularity  there  is  no  question. 
Its  production  marks  the  starting  point 
of  Wagner's  successful  career.  Like  Don 
Juan,  it  stands  out  as  a  perfect  work  of 
art,  and  in  it  there  is  a  wealth  of  musical 
ideas,  apart  from  the  motives,  which  are 
not  to  be  found  in  any  other  except 
Die  Meistersinger.  Now- a- days  no 
wedding  is  complete  unless  its  "  Bridal 
Music "  figures  in  the  organist's  pro- 
21 


Wagner  s    Lohengrin 

gramme.     Mendelssohn  and  Wag- 
ner— in  church,  it  is  as  well  to 
remember — have  for  ever 
impressed  themselves 
on     the     social 
life    of    the 
people. 


22 


II.     THE  STORY  OF  THE  SWAN-KNIGHT. 

IN  the  choice  of  his  stories  out  of 
which  to  realise  his  ideal  union  of 
poetry  and  music,  Wagner  shows  us  the 
chief  of  his  attributes,  that  of  a  keen 
perception  of  the  value  of  theatrical 
effect.  His  first  dip  into  the  priceless 
treasures  of  the  past,  led  him  to  the  old 
German  stories  of  Tannhauser  and  the 
song  contest  of  the  Wartburg  ;  and  the 
fascination  which  this  rich  storehouse 
exercised  over  him  drew  him  on  to 
Lohengrin  and  Parsifal. 

The  story  of  the  Swan-Knight   has 

its    beginnings    in    the    Anglo  -  Saxon, 

Danish   and   Longobardian   legends  of 

the  Skiff  ("  Sceaf ").     It  is  found  in  the 

23 


Wagner  s 


four  romances  called  Mabinogion,  a 
product  of  the  occupation  of  the  coast 
of  Wales  by  the  Irish,  wherein  ancient 
Irish  mythology  is  mixed  up  with  later 
Arthurian  legends. 

The  idea  of  people  being  changed 
into  Swans  is  common  enough  in  Ger- 
man fairy  tales.  In  Ireland,  Fionnula, 
the  daughter  of  Lin,  kept  guard  over 
the  lakes,  in  the  form  of  a  swan,  for 
hundreds  of  years,  and  the  scene  of 
action  in  various  versions  of  the  legend 
has  been  the  Rhine,  the  Meuse  and  the 
Scheldt. 

The  Swan  is  a  special  favourite  of 
northern  folk-lore.  Wagner's  friend, 
the  King  of  Bavaria,  had  a  beautiful  castle, 
once  called  the  Schwanstein,  now  Hohen- 
schwangau.  It  has  a  Swan-legend  of  its 
own,  of  course.  A  beautiful  lady  is 
sought  by  a  wicked  uncle  and  accused 
24 


Lohengrin 

by  him  of  crime  before  the  Emperor. 
She  gazes  out  upon  the  blue  lake 
which  nestles  far  down  in  the  valley, 
shut  in  by  the  jagged  rocks.  Here  she 
sees  a  swan  drawing  a  fragile  shell  in 
which  a  knight  lies  asleep.  The  knight 
comes  to  her  aid,  fights  her  battle  and 
takes  her  to  his  heart.  But  she  asks  his 
name,  and  the  spell  is  broken.  Wring- 
ing her  hands  in  agony,  she  sees  him 
step  back  into  his  boat,  and  mysteriously, 
as  he  came,  disappear  for  ever. 

The  locality  in  which  the  events  told 
in  the  legend  took  place  varies  with  each 
version.  Now  it  is  a  lake,  now  a  river, 
in  one  case  the  Rhine,  in  another  the 
Meuse,  or  the  Scheldt  ;  but  it  is  of 
special  interest  to  note  that  the  story 
was  carried  across  to  the  Continent  from 
Britain,  and  after  being  used  as  material 
by  the  Jongleur  of  France  and  the  Min- 
25 


Wagner  s 

nesinger  of  Germany,  was  brought  back 
to  our  shores  by  the  Norman  Minstrels. 

The  other  salient  point  of  the  story,  so 
far  as  the  drama  is  concerned,  is  that  of 
the  fatal  curiosity  and  inevitable  punish- 
ment of  a  wife  wedded  to  an  unknown 
husband.  In  "  Jupiter  and  Semele,"  in 
the  "Cupid  and  Psyche"  of  Apuleius,  in 
"  Partemplis  and  Amelor,"  in  "  Raymond 
and  Melusine,"  in  the  story  of  the 
goddess  Ganga  in  the  Rigveda,  in  the 
household  stories  of  Grimm,  we  find  it 
told  over  and  over  again. 

The  actual  story  employed  by  Wag- 
ner is  that  put  into  the  mouth  of  the 
Minnesinger,  Wolfram  of  Eschenbach, 
at  the  imaginary  Song-contest  at  the 
Wartburg  in  or  about  the  year  1207. 
Of  the  idea  of  blending  the  mystically 
beautiful  traditions  of  the  Grail  with  the 
Swan-legend,  Christian  of  Troyes  gives 
26 


- 


Lohengrin 


us  a  foretaste  in  1 1 70.  Little  by  little, 
the  ancient  poets  built  up  round  it  their 
fanciful  descriptions  of  the  homes  and 
doings  of  their  heroes,  gathering  details 
here  and  there,  partly  true  and  partly 
imaginative,  which  they  wove  into  a 
garland  of  decoration. 

Out  of  all  these  poetic  ideas  slowly 
grew  the  idea  that  the  stronghold  of  the 
tale  was  Montsalvat,  a  castle  among  the 
inaccessible  crags  of  the  Pyrenees,  where- 
in the  Grail  was  to  be  placed  for  safe- 
guard. Wolfram  of  Eschenbach  gives 
us  the  story,  weighed  down  with  all 
sorts  of  picturesque  religious  obser- 
vances. Wagner,  with  the  keen  eye 
and  the  unerring  hand  of  the  born 
stage-manager,  restores  it  to  us  in  much 
of  its  simple  and  direct  purity. 

In  the  Lyric  Drama  of  "  Parsifal  "  we 
learn  all  that  happened  before  the  Swan- 
27 


Wagner  s 

Knight,  Lohengrin,  arrived  upon  the 
river  bank  at  Antwerp.  Parsifal,  the 
"  pure  fool,"  the  Priest-King,  had  suc- 
ceeded Amfortas,  and  peace  reigned  in 
Montsalvat.  At  daybreak  an  entrancing 
melody  summoned  the  dwellers  in  that 
mystical  region  to  worship,  to  daily  ser- 
vice, and  afterwards  to  refreshing  sleep. 
Whenever,  in  the  outside  world,  Inno- 
cence or  Right  stood  in  danger  of  op- 
pression, a  warning  bell  sounded  and  a 
flame  appeared  on  the  sacred  vessel.  It 
was  on  one  of  these  occasions,  when  the 
long  calm  was  about  to  be  broken,  and 
while  the  knights  feasted  around  their 
King,  that  the  warning  sound  was  heard 
and  burning  letters,  flaming  fiercely  forth 
upon  the  sacred  vessel,  told  that  Lohen- 
grin was  to  be  sent  forth  in  a  bark  drawn 
by  a  crowned  swan. 

In  the  first  half  of  the  loth  century, 
28 


Lohengrin 

Henry,  King  of  Germany,  surnamed  the 
Fowler,  had  come  to  Antwerp  to  raise  a 
force  against  the  Hungarians  who  were 
then  threatening  him.  He  found  his 
chiefs  divided  and  without  a  leader. 
Telramund,  by  reason  of  his  wife's 
descent,  claimed  the  lordship  of  Brabant, 
since  Godfrey,  the  child  of  the  late 
Duke,  had  mysteriously  disappeared. 
Elsa  was  openly  looked  upon  as  the 
child's  murderer,  and  chief  among  her 
accusers  was  Telramund,  who  had  un- 
successfully sought  her  hand  in  marriage. 
Three  days  were  given  her  to  find  a 
champion  in  accordance  with  the  custom 
of  the  time,  and  as  a  fulfilment  of  her 
dream,  Lohengrin  appears  in  his  swan- 
drawn  boat  to  do  battle  for  her  inno- 
cence. 

The  reward  of  the  champion  is  to  be 
Elsa's  love.     But  she  must  first  give  a 
29 


apner  s 


promise.  Whence  he  came,  what  his 
name  is,  from  whom  he  derives  his 
being,  these  three  questions  must 
never  pass  between  them  when  they 
are  united  as  man  and  wife.  Elsa  pro- 
mises implicitly,  and  her  sweet  confi- 
dence inspires  Lohengrin  to  undertake 
her  defence.  In  the  contest,  Frederick 
is  disarmed,  but  his  life  is  spared  by  his 
opponent.  Elsa  gives  herself  and  all  her 
possessions  to  Lohengrin,  and  Telramund 
and  the  schemer,  Ortrud,  are  to  be  out- 
lawed. But  before  this  can  be  accom- 
plished there  is  time  for  the  seeds  of 
mistrust  to  be  sown  in  Elsa's  heart. 
Ortrud  and  Telramund  plot  together. 
A  wife  and  yet  not  a  wife,  Elsa,  through 
her  curiosity,  has  to  surrender  the  hero 
who,  from  out  of  the  world  of  her  dreams, 
came  to  her  succour  and  gained  her 
love.  But  before  Lohengrin  departs  the 
30 


Lohengrin 

lost  Godfrey  is  restored.     The  swan  is 
changed    and    Ortrud's    witchcraft   un- 
done.     With  the   death    of  Elsa,  the 
departure  of  Lohengrin  for  Mont- 
salvat,  and   the  proclamation 
of  the  youthful  Godfrey 
as    the    Protector 
of  Brabant,  the 
story  ends. 


31 


- 


III.    THE  PRESENTATION  OF  THE  OPERA 

WHEN  the  score  of  "  Lohengrin  " 
was  published  at  Leipzig  in  1852 
it  bore  a  dedication  from  Wagner  at 
Zurich  "to  my  dear  Liszt."  This  kind 
and  "rarest"  friend  had  given  Lohen- 
grin its  first  hearing  at  Weimar  two 
years  before  :  and  one  of  the  players 
in  the  orchestra  was  Joachim,  then  nine- 
teen years  old.  Wagner,  a  revolutionary 
exile,  wanted  to  return  secretly  to  hear 
it,  but  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  keep 
away.  For  years  afterwards,  he  said  he 
was  the  only  German  music-lover  who 
had  not  heard  Lohengrin. 

In   1853  it  began  its  slow,  but  suc- 
33  c 


Wagner  s 

cessful  course  at  Wiesbaden.  It  reached 
Vienna  and  Munich  in  1858,  Berlin 
in  1859,  and  Bologna,  the  home  of  the 
opera,  in  1871.  It  was  first  seen  in 
London  in  1875,  an<^  proceeded  to  St. 
Petersburg  in  the  same  year.  Paris 
waited  until  Lohengrin  had  reached  the 
ripe  age  of  44  years  before  hearing  it. 
In  the  guise  of  an  Italian  Opera  it  was 
given  at  Co  vent  Garden  in  1875,  w^tn 
Albani  as  Elsa,  d'Angeri  as  Ortrud, 
Maurel  as  Telramund,  Monte  as  the 
King,  Carpi  as  Lohengrin,  and  Capponi 
as  the  Herald.  In  June  of  the  same 
year  it  was  given  at  Drury  Lane  with 
Nilsson  as  the  Elsa.  The  Carl  Rosa 
Company  gave  the  first  English  repre- 
sentation at  the  old  "Her  Majesty's"  in 
1880.  Even  in  those  days  the  "American 
invasion  "  was  nothing  new.  Both  the 
Elsa,  Julia  Gaylord — and  the  Ortrud, 
34 


Lohengrin 


Josephine  Yorke — were  from  the  other 
side  of  the  water;  whilst  Schott,  of 
Hanover,  was  the  Lohengrin,  Ludwig 
the  Telramund,  and  Leslie  Crotty  the 
Herald. 

The  Moody-Manners  Opera  Com- 
pany played  it  for  the  first  time  on 
October  2yth,  1899,  w^^  Madame 
Fanny  Moody  as  Elsa,  Mr.  Hedmondt 
as  Lohengrin,  Miss  Marie  Alexander  as 
Ortrud,  Mr.  William  Dever  as  Telra- 
mund, and  Mr.  Dillon  Shallard  as  the 
Herald.  On  this  occasion,  certain  of 
the  usual  "  cuts  "  were  restored,  but  it 
was  found  subsequently  that  the  accepted 
acting  version  contained  all  that  was 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  proper  re- 
presentation of  the  opera. 

Lohengrin  was  first  given  at  Bayreuth 
— the  opening  festival  of  which  was  in 
1 882 — in  1 894,  with  the  following  cast : 
35 


Wagner  s    Lohengrin 

Lillian    Nordica   (Elsa),    Marie    Brema 
(alternately   with   Pauline    Meilhac    as 
Ortrud) ;      Van     Dyck     (Lohengrin) ; 
Carl  Grengg  (alternately  with  Mosel  as 
Heinrich)  ;    Popovici    (Telramund)  ; 
Bachmann  (the  Herald).    The  con- 
ductors were  Mottl,  Richter, 
Richard  Strauss, 
Kniese  and 
Levi. 


IV.  CHARACTERS  OF  THE  OPERA 
IN  THE  ORDER  OF  THEIR 
FIRST  APPEARANCE. 

THE  HERALD  (bass). 

The    Nobles    of  Brabant    (chorus    of 
tenors  and  basses]. 

HEINRICH  THE  FOWLER,  the 
German  King  (bass]. 

The   Saxon    and  Thuringian   Nobles 
(chorus  of  tenors  and  basses]. 

FREDERICK  OF  TELRAMUND, 
Count  of  Brabant  (baritone]. 

ORTRUD,  his  wife  (mezzo-soprano). 

ELSA  OF  BRABANT  (soprano}. 

Elsa's   attendant   maidens  (chorus    of 
sopranos  and  contraltos). 
37 


Wagner  s    Lohengrin 
LOHENGRIN,  Knight  of  the  Grail 


Four  Nobles  of  Brabant,  conspirators 
with  Frederick  (2  tenors,  2  basses}. 

Four  Pages  (2  sopranos,  2  contraltos}. 

A  Chorus  of  Pages  (sopranos  and 
contraltos}. 


V.      Music  AND  STORY  SIDE-BY-SIDE. 

THE  prelude  to  Lohengrin  is 
built  up  from  a  single  beautiful 
motive  which  is  admirably  worked  out, 
and  which  symbolises  the  return  of  the 
Holy  Grail,  escorted  by  a  band  of  celes- 
tial beings,  to  the  mysterious  castle  of 
Montsalvat,  the  mountain  where  it  is 
guarded  by  faithful  knights,  pure  and 
devout. 

The  GRAIL. 


fr  'J-sr  -br5 

39 


Wagner  s 


• 

0  I  f  J    J    ^    J  ~_^|^ 

y^N-ii 

tr  —  F  I    T  

$*i£  —  -F-r^ 

u  -u  • 

This  impressive  melody,  radiant  with 
its  suggestions  of  the  supernatural,  gives 
us  a  glimpse,  as  it  were,  of  what  Parsifal 
was  to  be.  It  reveals  how  Wagner 
built  up,  out  of  his  wealth  of  ideas,  his 
own  particular  method  of  expressing 
them.  It  is  sufficient  merely  to  hint  at 
this  making  of  a  language,  rather  than 
to  trace  each  analogy  in  separate  works. 

First  given  to  the  violins,  in  the  highest 
register,  and  divided  among  sets  of  four 
instruments,  this  motive  drifts  into  the 
wood-wind,  and  is  then  taken  up  by  the 
violas  and  violoncellos,  passes  through 
the  horns,  and  finally  swells  gloriously 
and  triumphantly  in  the  brass.  Like  the 
blaze  of  a  summer  sunset,  it  dies  away 

4° 


Lohengrin 

gradually  and  mysteriously,  and  ends  in 
a  whisper  of  the  muted  strings. 

Under  a  spreading  oak,  surrounded 
by  the  King's  Ban,  the  Lords  of  Saxony 
and  Thuringia,  sits  Heinrich  the  Fow- 
ler, the  King  of  Germany.  On  the  left, 
headed  by  Frederick  of  Telramund,  are 
grouped  the  nobles  and  the  people  of 
Brabant.  At  the  extreme  corner  stands 
Ortrud,  daughter  of  the  Frisian  King, 
Frederick's  wife  and  evil  genius.  In  the 
background  is  the  open  country  through 
which,  by  tortuous  windings,  the  river 
Scheldt  finds  its  way  to  the  sea. 

Escorted  by  four  trumpeters  sounding 
the  King's  call,  the  King's  Herald 
advances,  and  demands  the  fealty  of  the 
assembly.  The  King  then  describes 
the  situation  to  his  subjects.  He  tells 
them  of  the  bitter  strife  with  Hungary, 
and  how  he  has  obtained  a  long  truce 
41 


Wagner  s 


for  the  purpose  of  making  strong  his 
boundaries  and  disciplining  his  forces. 
The  nine  years  have  expired,  and  a  final 
and  conclusive  blow  will  have  to  be 
struck  at  the  invaders  and  disturbers 
of  the  peace.  He  then  asks  why  internal 
quarrels  in  Brabant  are  menacing  the 
unity  of  his  empire,  and  why  there  is 
no  prince  to  rule  the  country  ;  and 
commands  Frederick  to  give  him  a  plain 
statement  of  affairs.  This  fine  recitative 
on  the  part  of  the  King  is  broken,  in 
places,  by  the  replies  of  the  chorus. 

Frederick  tells  the  King  how  the 
Duke  of  Brabant,  at  his  death,  left  in  his 
charge  young  Godfrey,  heir  to  the 
throne,  and  Elsa  his  daughter.  One 
day  when  walking  with  Elsa,  Godfrey 
had  mysteriously  disappeared.  Sure  in 
his  own  mind  that  the  maiden  had 
committed  a  dastardly  crime,  he  had  re- 
42 


Lohengrin 

nounced  her  hand  and  taken  Ortrud  to 
wife.  He  now  unfolds  his  suspicions  and 
demands  justice  upon  the  murderess, 
at  the  same  time  reminding  the  King  of 
his  own  connection  with  the  princely  line, 
both  through  his  relationship  to  the 
Duke  of  Brabant  and  his  kinship  through 
his  wife. 

The  sympathy  of  the  assembly  is 
given  to  Elsa,  and  even  the  King  cannot 
bring  himself  to  believe  in  her  guilt,  but 
Frederick  persists  in  his  accusations,  and 
hints  at  dark  designs  on  her  part,  and  a 
secret  love,  in  which,  as  mistress  of 
Brabant,  she  would  be  free  to  indulge. 
The  King  decides  to  have  her  placed 
upon  her  trial,  and  in  a  solemn  invoca- 
tion, asks  the  guidance  of  God. 

There  is  a  fresh  call  by  the  Herald, 
and  Elsa,  gentle,  grave  and  sad,  slowly 
enters,  attended  by  her  women.  A  motive 
43 


Wagner  s 

of  hope  and  calm    resignation   is   now 
heard  in  the  orchestra. 

ELSA. 


^ 


The  King  asks  Elsa  if  she  will  take  him  as 
her  judge,  and  if  she  truly  understands 
of  what  she  is  accused.  As  in  a  dream, 
Elsa  murmurs  her  brother's  name.  In 
a  kind  of  ecstasy  she  tells  how  she, 
after  praying  to  God,  had  fallen  into  a 
deep  sleep,  in  which  she  dreamed  that  a 
Knight  in  shining  armour  had  been  sent 
by  Heaven  for  her  protection.  Him 
she  awaits,  and  in  his  miraculous  defence 
her  safety  is  assured.  In  this  relation  of 
her  dream,  the  above  Elsa  motive  will 
be  recognised  in  a  modified  form.  Added 
44 


Lohengrin 

to  this  is  the  Lohengrin  motive,  typical 
of  the  knightly  grace  and  courtesy  which 
accompanies  Lohengrin,  with  certain 
changes,  triumphantly  throughout  the 
opera,  until  the  final  bars  of  the  score, 
when  it  changes  into  the  minor  key. 

LOHENGRIN. 

»    I—  ^^fe          r*~^      k-  i 


Frederick,  however,  is  not  to  be  put  off 
by  any  semblance  of  innocence  on  Elsa's 
part.  Boasting  of  his  past  prowess,  he 
defies  any  one  to  take  up  Elsa's  part 
against  him.  The  King  then  invokes  the 

45 


Wagner  s 

judgment  of  Heaven — a  similarity  with 
this  motive  to  that  of  the  treaty  in  the 
Ring  should  be  noticed — and  asks  Elsa 
to  choose  a  champion.  Elsa  repeats 
that  she  awaits,  in  confidence  and  trust, 
the  champion  of  her  dream,  on  whom  she 
will  bestow  her  heart  and  her  kingdom. 

East  and  west,  north  and  south,  the 
trumpet-call  is  sounded  and  the  combat 
proclaimed  ;  and  in  an  impressive  silence 
the  call  dies  away.  At  Elsa's  entreaty 
the  call  is  once  more  sent  forth  as  she 
prays  in  fervent  ardour  that  she  may  not 
be  left  to  the  devices  of  the  wicked  men 
who  have  compassed  her  undoing. 

As  by  a  miracle,  out  of  the  distance 
comes  a  boat  drawn  by  a  swan,  in  which 
stands  Lohengrin,  clad  all  in  silver. 
As  the  slight  vessel  nears  the  bank,  the 
crowd  look  on  amazed,  Elsa  is  en- 
raptured, and  Frederick  and  Ortrud 


Lohengrin 


glare  with  malevolence.  In  the  orchestra 
is  heard  the  Lohengrin  motive,  and  in 
complement  to  it,  the  one  of  Glory ',  which 
has  been  interwoven  with  the  former 
motive  in  the  music  of  Elsa's  dream. 

Blessing  and  taking  leave  of  the  swan 
that  has  borne  him,  Lohengrin  lands. 

FAREWELL  TO  THE  SWAN. 


(Just  before  this  the  Grail  motive  is 
again  heard.)  Elsa  is  roused  from  her 
self-communings  as  Lohengrin  asks  her 
if  she  will  place  her  honour  in  his  hands ; 
and  throwing  herself  at  his  feet  she 
consents  to  become  his  wife  as  soon  as  he 
47 


Wagner  s 


has  vindicated  her  in  the  sight  of  all.  As 
the  Grail  is  again  heard,  he  tells  her 
in  reply  that  she  must  never  ask  his 
name,  nor  seek  to  know  from  whence 
he  came.  Weird  and  authoritative,  from 
the  emphasis  that  Lohengrin  gives  it  by 
twice  repeating  it,  the  Mystery  of  the 
Name  is  heard. 

THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  NAME. 


Lohengrin  and  Frederick  being  now 
face  to  face,  the  herald  stations  three 
witnesses  for  Lohengrin  and  three  for 
Frederick  respectively.  After  the  pro- 
clamation (which  brings  in  the  King's 
motive,  the  Judgment),  follows  the  King's 
Prayer  and  a  quintet  which  is  taken 
48 


Lohengrin 

up  by  the  chorus.  As  the  fighters 
engage,  the  Judgment^  this  time  appear- 
ing in  canon  form,  comes  in  at  each 
attack.  As  the  Swan-Knight  smites 
Frederick  to  the  ground  and  holds  him 
at  his  mercy,  the  Lohengrin  motive  is 
heard.  Elsa  hails  her  champion's  victory 
in  a  fine  phrase  which  is  afterwards  de- 
veloped by  the  chorus,  and  the  finale, 
which  begins  at  this  point,  ranks  as  one 
of  the  masterpieces  throughout  the  whole 
range  of  opera.  As  the  curtain  is  about 
to  descend,  the  Lohengrin  motive  swells 
out  in  overpowering  brilliance. 

THE  SECOND  ACT. 

In  the  short  prelude  to  the  second  act 

we  have  recalled  to  us  the  chief  import 

of  the  forthcoming  action — the  instilling 

into    Elsa's   mind   of   that    doubt   and 

49  D 


W^agners 

curiosity  which  is  to  be  her  ruin.  A 
grumbling,  as  it  were,  on  the  violoncellos 
reveals  Ortrud's  plotting. 

The  scene  is  laid  within  the  castle 
walls.  In  the  background,  the  windows 
of  the  Knights'  quarters  shine  like  bright 
spots  through  the  darkness.  On  one  side 
is  the  porch  of  the  castle  chapel,  on  the 
steps  of  which  Frederick  and  Ortrud  are 
crouching,  on  the  other  is  the  Kemenate 
— the  women's  apartments — approached 
by  a  flight  of  steps  leading  to  a  balcony. 

The  long  dialogue  which  takes  place 
between  Frederick  and  Ortrud  is  a 
mutual  recrimination.  This  gives  place 
to  the  shaping  of  Ortrud's  perfidy,  and 
the  violoncellos  again  give  out  another 
sombre  phrase,  the  Doubt,  worked  up,  as 
Frederick  sings,  with  a  reminiscence  of 
the  Mystery  of  the  Name.  In  the  swift 
development  of  the  story,  for  the  musical 
5° 


Lohengrin 

expression  of  a  fixed  purpose  —  that 
of  the  intent  to  instil  into  Elsa's  mind 
the  curiosity  which  will  tear  away  the 
mystery  which  keeps  Lohengrin's  name 
hid  from  her — it  would  be  impossible 
to  find  Wagner's  equal. 

Frederick  listens  to  his  wife's  plan. 
Elsa  must  be  worked  upon.  If  she  can 
be  made  to  break  her  promise,  the 
charm  protecting  the  Swan-Knight  will 
be  broken  and  he  will  become  vulnerable. 
Then  Frederick  will  challenge  him 
again,  and  the  slightest  scratch  will  seal 
his  doom. 

This  gloomy  episode,  finely  considered 
and  forcefully  sustained,  stands  out  as 
one  of  the  great  things  in  the  opera.  A 
terrible  imprecation  sung  in  unison  by 
Frederick  and  Ortrud,  is  as  the  signing 
and  sealing  of  a  compact  of  revenge. 
As  Elsa  now  appears  on  the  balcony, 


apner  s 


and  in  a  sweet  melody  sings  of  her 
happiness,  Ortrud  comes  out  of  the 
darkness  and  plays  the  suppliant.  In 
this  duet  the  orchestra  gives  out  the 
Doubt  and  the  Mystery  of  the  Name. 
Already,  as  Elsa  descends,  we  know  that 
the  poison  instilled  by  Ortrud  is  begin- 
ning to  work.  In  wicked  exultation, 
Ortrud  offers  a  wild  prayer  to  her  pagan 
deities,  and  then,  as  Elsa  approaches, 
cringes  in  hypocritical  supplication. 

As  they  both  enter  the  castle,  the  day 
begins  to  break.  Answering  trumpet- 
calls  (in  D)  are  followed  by  the  King's 
Call  (in  C).  Anon,  the  previous  key  of  D 
is  again  brought  in,  with  one  of  Wagner's 
simple,  yet  daringly  striking  effects. 
As  the  courtyard  fills  with  people,  the 
Herald  announces  that  by  command  of 
the  King,  Frederick  is  banished,  that  the 
Swan-Knight  is  to  be  Protector  of 
52 


Lohengrin 

Brabant,  and  that  he  will  accompany  the 
King  to  fresh  triumphs  on  the  battlefield. 

The  first  procession  that  now  passes 
is  that  of  Elsa,  arrayed  in  her  bridal 
garments.  As  she  reaches  the  steps  of 
the  chapel,  Ortrud  bursts  forth  into  an 
impassioned  appeal  for  her  husband's 
re-instatement.  Who  is  this  unknown 
knight  that  has  so  quickly  insinuated 
into  the  favour  of  the  people,  she 
asks. 

The  second  procession,  that  of  the 
King  and  the  Bridegroom,  now  ap- 
proaches. The  King  bids  Ortrud  begone  ; 
but  soon  Frederick,  in  his  turn,  blazes 
out  in  protest.  Frederick,  too,  asks  the 
knight  his  name.  Lohengrin  refuses  to 
reveal  aught  to  any  one  save  Elsa,  and 
she,  though  obviously  troubled,  still 
holds  to  her  faith.  Frederick,  quick  to 
snatch  his  opportunities,  sees  her  waver- 
53 


Wagner  s 

ing  and  tries  to  counsel  her.  The 
Swan-Knight,divining  Frederick's  intent, 
for  the  last  time  asks  Elsa  if  she  will 
trust  him  blindly.  Elsa  passionately 
promises  whole-hearted  obedience  and 
implicit  trust,  and  amid  the  pealing  of 
bells  the  procession  is  re-made,  the 
organ  peals  from  the  chapel,  and  the 
Swan-Knight  leads  Elsa  to  the  altar. 

Through  these  stirring  scenes,  no  use 
is  made  of  motives  until  the  arrival  of 
the  King.  Then  the  Kings  Call  is 
followed  by  the  Lohengrin  motive,  and 
the  Judgment  makes  its  appearance  when 
Frederick  is  accusing  Lohengrin  of 
magical  art  in  gaining  the  confidence  of 
the  King  and  people.  The  Doubt,  the 
Mystery  of  the  Name,  and  Ortrucfs  Plotting 
will  all  be  recognised  at  the  end,  when 
the  King  is  about  to  enter  the  chapel 
with  Elsa  and  Lohengrin. 
54 


Lohengrin 
THE  THIRD  ACT. 


The  prelude  to  the  final  act,  unlike 
that  of  the  second,  which  presages  the 
issue  of  that  which  is  to  follow,  is  an 
imaginative  piece  of  music  which  carries 
on  the  wedding  festivities.  Its  note  is 
that  of  joyfulness,  and  within  the  limits 
of  the  expressive  march  and  trio 
Wagner  has  given  us  a  fine  piece  of 
music,  gorgeous  in  colour,  and  admirably 
contrasted. 

The  characteristic  opening,  the  tender 
and  poetical  melody  of  the  trio,  all  give 
way  to  the  towering  supremacy  of  the 
familiar  second  theme,  first  given  to  the 
violoncellos,  bassoons  and  horns,  and 
then  taken  up  majestically  by  the  brass. 
Like  Beethoven,  Wagner  here  breaks 
out  in  sheer  revelry  of  tune  ;  and  like 
the  final  movement  of  Beethoven's 
55 


W^agners 

violin-concerto  this  prelude  never  seems 
to  pall  on  the  hearer. 

The  scene  shows  us  the  marriage 
chamber.  Large  windows  open  to  the 
garden,  and  near  them  is  a  low  couch. 
Pages,  women  and  nobles  bring  in  the 
newly  wedded  couple  to  the  strains  of  a 
wedding  march.  This  is  often  pointed 
to  as  some  of  the  baser  metal  which 
Wagner  has  used  in  his  music-structure. 
But  surely  its  weakness  is  only  apparent 
when  it  is  disjointed  and  offered  as  a 
single  piece  of  music.  Placed  as  it  is  in 
the  opera,  it  is  a  perfect  expression  of 
the  words.  Can  one  imagine  any  other 
setting  to  "  Treulich  geftthrt "  ? 

At  first  giving  herself  up  to  sweet 
emotion,  Elsa  lies  in  her  husband's  arms  ; 
but  soon  the  inevitable  curiosity  asserts 
itself.  She  becomes  more  and  more 
insistent,  and  in  vain  Lohengrin  tries  to 

56 


Lohengrin 


assuage  her  burning  desire  to  discover 
his  identity.  By  the  appearance  of  the 
Swan  motive  we  understand  Elsa's 
imagination  that  the  boat  is  drawing 
nigh  to  deprive  her  of  her  loved  one. 
In  a  frenzy  she  puts  the  fatal  question, 
and  then,  while  the  words  are  yet  on 
her  lips,  in  burst  Frederick  and  four 
of  the  malcontent  nobles  bent  on  murder. 
Elsa,  however,  has  the  presence  of  mind 
to  hand  her  husband  his  sword,  and 
Frederick  is  slain. 

This  is  the  beginning  of  the  end. 
Lohengrin  orders  the  body  of  Frederick 
to  be  carried  before  the  King,  and  calls 
to  the  attendants  to  robe  Elsa.  In  the 
presence  of  the  King,  he  will  answer  the 
fatal  question.  It  is  here  that  the  motives 
appear  for  the  first  time  in  this  act. 
The  Doubt  will  be  heard  as  Frederick  is 
slain,  and,  as  his  body  is  carried  out,  the 
57 


Wagner  s 

Judgment.  The  Mystery  of  the  Name, 
followed  by  the  Graily  comes  in  just  as 
the  curtain  closes  on  the  scene. 

When  it  rises  again,  the  banks  of  the 
Scheldt  are  again  before  our  view.  One 
by  one,  the  nobles  who  have  assembled 
to  fight  under  the  banner  of  the  Pro- 
tector, march  in  before  the  King,  and 
instead  of  appearing  as  a  leader  to  battle, 
the  Protector  comes  in,  preceded  by 
Frederick's  corpse,  to  announce  his 
departure.  In  sadness,  the  King  listens 
to  the  story  of  Frederick's  baseness,  and 
pardons  his  punisher,  turning  in  horror 
from  the  traitor.  But  the  saddest  is  yet 
to  come.  Lohengrin  accuses  the  woman 
he  loves  with  having  violated  her 
promise  to  the  undoing  of  both,  and  then 
reveals  the  secret.  His  father  is 
Parsifal,  Keeper  of  the  Grail,  and  he 
is  Lohengrin.  The  assembly  receives 

58 


Lohengrin 

the  tidings  in  awe.  Elsa  sees  the  great- 
ness of  her  fault,  and  though  too  late, 
pleads  for  time  to  expiate  it.  In  vain 
the  nobles  beg  Lohengrin  to  stay. 

Suddenly  the  Swan  is  seen  returning. 
Lohengrin  full  of  sadness  takes  farewell 
of  it.  Those  standing  near  do  not  realise 
the  meaning  of  this  farewell.  Lohengrin, 
overcome  with  grief,  tells  Elsa  that  he 
hoped  one  day  to  restore  her  lost  brother  ; 
and  as  he  gives  her  his  sword,  ring  and 
horn,  he  charges  her  to  keep  them  for 
Godfrey,  if  ever  it  should  chance  that  he 
should  yet  be  found.  With  a  last  long 
embrace  he  approaches  the  boat. 

Ortrud  now  explains  the  mystery  of 
the  swan.  She  herself  had  transformed 
Godfrey  into  the  swan,  and  in  brutal 
exultation  she  points  out  that,  with  the 
departure  of  Lohengrin,  Godfrey  will  be 
lost  for  ever.  But  Lohengrin  overhears 


Wagner  s    Lohengrin 

her    and    prays    for    the   breaking   of 
the  spell.    In  response  to  his  prayer,  the 
dove  of  the  Grail  is  seen  to  hover  above 
the  swan,  and  in  a  moment  Godfrey  is 
restored  to  his  proper  shape.    But  Elsa's 
joy  at  the  restoration  of  her  long-lost 
brother  is  eclipsed  by  her  sorrow  at  the 
loss  of  her  loved  one.    The  dove  directs 
the  course  of  the  boat  and  Lohengrin 
departs  for  ever.     The  baffled  Ortrud 
drags  herself  away  to  die  of  disappoint- 
ment, and  as  the  nobles  hail  their  young 
lord  with   joy,  Elsa    breathes  her  last. 
In  the  final  music  the  motives  have  little 
part.    Only  when  the  dove  appears 
does    the    Grail   motive 
once    more    assert 
itself,  and  with  its 
solemn  strains 
the  curtain 
falls. 
60 


Nights  at  the  Opera 

A  series  of  hand-books  for  the  music-lover,  the  object  of 
which  is  to  reproduce  in  an  attractive  form  an  analysis  of 
the  music,  with  a  running  commentary  on  the  dramatic 
element  in  the  opera  to  which  it  is  devoted. 


BY  WAKELING   DRY 

1.  LOHENGRIN 

2.  TANNHAUSER 

3.  TRISTRAN  &  ISOLDE 

4.  MEISTERSINGER 

5.  RHEINGOLD  &  WALKURE 

6.  SIEGFRIED  &  GOTTERDAMMERUNG 

12.  THE  FLYING  DUTCHMAN 


BY  FRANCIS  BURGESS 
F.S~rf.,  Scot. 

7.  CARMEN  9.  DON  GIOVANNI 

8.  FAUST  ID.  IL  TROVATORE 

ii.  RIGOLETTO 


PHILADELPHIA 

GEORGE   W.  JACOBS   &   CO. 

PUBLISHERS 


PRINTED  BY  ALEXANDER  MORING  LIMITED 
AT  THE  DE  LA  MORE  PRESS  32  GEORGE 
STREET  HANOVER  SQUARE  LONDON  ENGLAND 


Heinrich 

Telramund 

Ortrud 

Elsa 

Lohengrin 


NOTES  AS  TO  PERFORMANCES  AND  CASTS 


Heinrich 

Telramund 

Ortrud 

Elsa 

Lohengrin 


Hl 


T^  -^        JJJ~\X>*i 

/JstfguA' 


NOTES  AS  TO  PERFORMANCES  AND  CASTS 

Heinrich 

Telramund 

Ortrud 

Elsa 

Lohengrin 

Heinrich 

Telramund 

Ortrud 

Elsa 

Lohengrin 


NOTES  AS  TO  PERFORMANCES  AND  CASTS 

Heinrich 

Telramund 

Ortrud 

Elsa 

Lohengrin 

Heinrich 

Telramund 

Ortrud 

Elsa 

Lohengrin 


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NIGHTS    AT   THE    OPERA 


